October 12, 2026
Monday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time
Gospel: Lk 11:29–32

Today is Monday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time. In today’s Gospel at Mass, we encounter a very frequent word: sign. We also see Jesus mention four figures from the Old Testament: the prophet Jonah, the Queen of the South, Solomon, and the people of Nineveh. Therefore, let us try to understand.

First, the sign. The word “sign” in English means a mark or signal. When we speak of signs, we often think of the signs God gives to each of us. God often grants us signs when we least expect them, reminding us of His presence, and thus enabling us to respond to His call to each of us.

For the people of Nineveh, the prophet Jonah was their sign, because they repented at his preaching (cf. Jon 3:1–10). God saw their repentance and did not bring disaster upon them. For the Jews of Jesus’ time, Jonah was a prefigurement of Jesus, because Jonah, for having rejected the will of God, was in the belly of the whale for three days and three nights. There, in the belly of the whale, he prayed to the Lord his God (cf. Jon 2:1–10). Likewise, to save the world, Jesus died on the cross and rested in the tomb for three days and three nights.

For the Queen of the South, Solomon was the object of her pursuit. She longed to receive Solomon’s wisdom. Who was this Queen of the South? She is the Queen of Sheba (cf. 1 Kgs 10). She came from a foreign land to Solomon, bringing abundant gifts, to seek wisdom from him. Today, this Queen of Sheba has become a model for all of us to imitate. Though she was of high rank and great authority, she came before a foreign king and humbly sought his counsel. She did not seek more world wealth for herself but sought wisdom alone.

As people of the New Covenant, what we often pursue is superficial, because in our view, so long as we have received the Sacraments of Initiation, we shall be saved. In our eyes, the Sacraments of Initiation are the mark of our salvation. Yet what can truly save us is not the Sacraments in themselves, but Jesus the Savior who gives us these Sacraments. Once we have come to see this clearly, we must also make ourselves a sign for others on their journey toward holiness. That is to say, our thoughts, words, and deeds must be conformed to Jesus Christ; we must no longer act according to the logic of this world, but according to the logic of God’s kingdom, manifesting at all times and in all places the love God has for each of us—a love so great that He was willing to lay down His own life for us.

May your grace, O Lord, we pray,
at all times go before us and follow after
and make us always determined
to carry out good works.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever

©Totus Tuus 2026
Cum Approbatione Ecclesiastica